The Mountain's Shadow

“Oh, he’ll know. They always do.”

Our food, carried by Ted himself as well as a regular waiter, arrived, and we didn’t speak for a few minutes.

“How is yours?” I asked.

“Excellent. I’m jealous.”

“Of what?”

“That you get to live up here among the rich and culinarily spoiled. And you get a kick-ass kitchen. All you need is a butler and you’re all set.”

“‘Culinarily?’” I laughed. “Is that a word?”

“It is now.”

Before I could reply, the door opened and let in a draught. I shivered and turned to see Kyra Ellison and Leonard Bowman.

“Isn’t that Peter’s brother?” Lonna asked as she craned her neck to follow their progress to the bar. Leonard’s eyes scanned the room. Kyra frowned, almost pouted.

“Yep, that’s Leonard.”

“Who’s the sulky woman?”

“Her name is Kyra Ellison. She’s the one I told you about.”

“She certainly looks like a snob.” Lonna studied her with narrowed eyes, then tossed her hair. Threat dismissed. I wished I felt the same.

The couple took seats at the bar, and Leonard held up two fingers. I don’t know if it was the lighting, but I hadn’t noticed before how slender and graceful his hands were. I pictured him running them through his thick, dark hair while thinking or gripping a steering wheel as he maneuvered winding mountain roads in his rugged four-wheel drive, or running them over my—

Stop it, I told myself. The last thing I needed was to become attracted to another attached man. And Kyra Ellison had definitely attached herself to Leonard.

“I know that look,” Lonna murmured. She held up her wineglass. “Here’s to the Bowman men, unattainable yet irresistible.”

“I don’t know about that,” I grumbled but clinked her glass with mine anyway.

“How about some chocolate? It’ll cure a broken heart.”

“Two nights in a row?”

“Is that what you tell your lovers?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Depends on the lover.”

“Touche.”

Ted came over and took our dessert and coffee orders. I ordered a Chocolate Insanity, which proved to be a chocolate mousse filling in a cookie crust. Lonna opted for creme brulee.

I had deliberately averted my eyes from the bar, so when I glanced up after dessert, I was surprised to see Leonard and Kyra still there. Whatever disagreement they’d had seemed to have been resolved, and they laughed as he tucked a stray ebony curl behind her ear. I tried to ignore the finger of pain that poked my heart. Robert had loved to do just that as we talked over after-dinner drinks. On the nights his wife had been out of town. I envied Leonard and Kyra their freedom. They looked like lovers who didn’t care that others knew they were together.

Ted’s voice startled me out of my observations. “Your check has been taken care of.”

“By whom?” I asked.

“Your admirer.”

“My admirer?” He was definitely looking at me.

“He said to tell you he hoped you enjoyed your dinner.”

“Wow,” Lonna said. “I wonder who it could be.”

As we left, I glanced toward the bar. For an instant Leonard’s eyes flicked our way, and when they met mine, my heart skipped a beat. I wondered if that’s what it felt like to be enchanted. It only lasted the moment it took to walk out of Tabitha’s and into the cool night air.

“Where to now?” I asked.

“I guess we should stop avoiding it. We have to go back to your grandfather’s house sometime.”

“I know.” I sighed and wished we had explored the place during daylight. Who knew what might lurk there after dark?

Lonna had driven to the restaurant. I was concerned her Grand Cherokee would roll down the mountain after a too-fast curve, but she might as well have been behind the wheel of a sports car the way the large vehicle responded to her touch. It was a good thing she drove because her first question would have startled me into a tree.

“Have you ever thought of suing Robert?”

My heart skipped a beat. “For what?”

“Sexual harassment. He was your boss.”

“Nope. It was completely consensual. I could never perjure myself.”

“That’s too bad. He deserves something for what he did to you.”

“I don’t know.” I smiled and imagined him tucking my hair behind my ear. “I usually enjoyed what he did to me.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

We reached the front gate, and I clicked the remote Galbraith had given me. The squat brick gatehouse stood lonely and forlorn just behind the gate on the left, and I wondered how much staff my grandfather had kept while he was alive. I remembered not being completely alone in the house with him, but I couldn’t remember who exactly was there or why.

As we rounded the first curve, I caught my breath. I thought we had turned everything off, but light blazed from the windows.

Chapter Four

“Is there a timer?” Lonna asked.

“I don’t know.” I was glad I didn’t have to go upstairs in the dark, but I was wary of the house itself. It seemed to have a mind of its own.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out.” She rolled to a stop in the drive between the fountain and the front steps. “This place was built for parties,” she commented as I hopped down from the passenger seat.

“That’s the funny thing about it. I don’t remember him ever having any.”

“You said there was a ballroom?”

“Yep.” I turned the key in the lock. “It’s in the back on the lower level.”

“That’s strange.”

“Everything about this is strange. Did you move our suitcases?”

“No, I left them right here.”

“Bon soir, mademoiselles.” A hearty male voice greeted us from the top of the stairs, and I jumped. For a moment it looked like Galbraith, but a closer look revealed someone younger and with a lot more personality.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my grandfather’s house?”

“My name is Gabriel, and I am your butler.”

“Butler?”

“Lawrence Galbraith didn’t tell you?”

“He left that bit out.”

Gabriel shrugged, his tailored suit coat moving perfectly across his broad shoulders. I guessed him to be about forty with a wild mane of light brown hair and a twinkle in his eye. He seemed to have more of a sense of humor than most butlers—at least the ones I’d seen on television.